National news in brief, 7/14

SAN FRANCISCO — A bloodied gunman suspected of killing two women and seriously wounding a man inside a jewelry store at a popular San Francisco shopping center is in custody, but police have yet to release a motive.

Officers encountered the suspect Friday outside the San Francisco Giftcenter & Jewelrymart in the trendy South of Market area. Initially, the officers were not sure if the man, who had blood on his clothes, was a shooting victim or a suspect, police Chief Greg Suhr said.

The man, whose name was not released, then opened fire at officers while retreating into a restaurant, Suhr said.

Inside the shopping center, officers found two women dead and a man injured with gunshot and stab wounds at the Victoga jewelry shop. One woman was shot, and the other suffered "wounds from an edged weapon," police said.

Illinois

Coroner: Boy's dune survival a ‘miracle'

CHICAGO — A 6-year-old boy who spent more than three hours underground after being swallowed by a massive Indiana sand dune was able to respond to "simple commands" when he arrived at a Chicago hospital, a spokesperson said.

The boy, whose survival was described as a "miracle" by a local coroner, remained in critical condition Saturday at Comer Children's Hospital and has responded well to being on a ventilator, hospital spokeswoman Lorna Wong said in a statement.

Michigan City, Ind., Fire Chief Ronnie Martin told WSBT-TV on Saturday that an air pocket saved the boy's life.

According to Bruce Rowe, a ranger at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore park along Lake Michigan, the boy's family said he was playing on the dune Friday when he dropped partially into it. While they were trying to dig him out, the dune collapsed, burying the boy under 11 feet of sand, he said.

The family called 911, and emergency responders were on the scene within 15 minutes and began digging by hand, Rowe said. Crews with excavating equipment were brought in to aid the rescue effort.

New York

Judge to decide if airlines owe for 9/11

NEW YORK — A judge who has presided over most of the litigation stemming from the Sept. 11 attacks will decide whether the owners of the World Trade Center can try to make aviation companies pay billions of dollars in damages.

U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein said he will announce his decision immediately after hearing several witnesses and listening to arguments in a nonjury trial starting Monday and expected to last three days.

The trial will decide whether World Trade Center Properties and its affiliates can receive more than the $4.9 billion in insurance proceeds they have already recovered since the 9/11 attacks by terrorists who hijacked commercial airliners and flew them into the 110-story twin towers. The attacks led to the destruction of the towers as well as a third trade center building.